As you are winding down your summer vacations and preparing to get your children ready to go back to school, we want to remind you about an upcoming tax break that may help to make that transition easier. The Arkansas Sales Tax Holiday begins the morning of Saturday, Aug. 4 and continues until midnight Sunday, Aug. 5.

During this 48 hour period, all school supplies, school art supplies, clothing, and clothing accessories will be exempt from sales tax. The holiday exemption for clothing is limited to single articles with a price of less than $100. Items priced at $100 or more are subject to the full state and local sales tax. For example, if you were purchasing two shirts at $50 each, a pair of jeans at $75, and a pair of shoes at $125, then no state and local sales tax would be due on the two shirts and the pair of jeans, even though the total cost is $175. However, the state and local sales tax will be due on the full purchase price ($125) of the shoes since they exceed the $100 threshold per item.

We recognize back to school shopping can be costly. In fact, for retailers this time of year, sales are second only to the holiday season. When you add up the cost of new shoes, clothes, backpacks and supplies, the average family spends anywhere from $400 to $600 to get one child ready for a new year of learning. And the costs continue to climb. It’s estimated families will spend 14 percent more this year than they did in 2011.

Arkansas joined 15 other states in creating a sales tax holiday when it passed Act 757 in the General Session of 2011. It was part of $26 million in tax cuts we provided to Arkansans in the 88th General Assembly.

Arkansas’s general sales tax stands at 6 percent. So if you do your shopping during the first weekend of August you will save at least that much on your purchases.

Retailers are also required to exempt your local sales taxes during that 48 hour period.

The Department of Finance and Administration has provided information about the sales tax holiday on its website www.dfa.arkansas.gov. There you will find answers to frequently asked questions and a complete list of items that will be exempt.

We are looking forward to a year of positive growth in our education system. We hope the sales tax holiday allows you and your family to concentrate more on what our children are learning rather than what they are wearing.